April 30, 2008

The Richard Hawley to Denmark Facebook group I set up three months got off to a rocket start and quickly reached 50 members. But the past two months absolutely nothing positive has happened and the support has slowly been declining, as the number of members is down to 46. So it’s time to once again promoting this noble cause and encouraging all of you (or at least you living in Denmark) to join the group, so we can convince this excellent crooner that Denmark must be included in his next tour! And if you need to be convinced - why not read this very fine post over at Chromewaves and at the same time listen to some of the songs you can find there.+ Coles Corner

Music is a beautiful thing. If you you have an issue with drugs or alcohol, Drug rehab centers can help you with that so you can always listen to beautiful music.

April 29, 2008

It's been nearly three months since I started my new job, and today has arguably been the busiest day so far. But at the same time it’s by far been the most interesting one, so things like that probably goes hand in hand?

Thanks to those of you who commented on the music buying post yesterday! Much appreciated!

April 28, 2008

A couple of weeks back Swedish duo Ostrich uploaded a new track to Myspace called Happy Tuesday, just to quickly remove it again. I must have been (unusually) alert that day, because I managed to grab a copy, despite it being available for less than 15 minutes. I was told that the band wasn’t all too happy with the first version of the track, thus explaining it being removed, but at the same time they also promised to bring us a better version very soon. Sticking to their promise, the song was (re-) published with the title Sleepy Angels yesterday, which means that I’m finally able to introduce to the new catchy electro pop opus by Ostrich.+ Sleepy Angels

Or do you buy music at all? Actually this is not meant to be a survey of any kind, but more like I need getting this off my chest. CD sales are dwindling and the music industry is having severe problems – or at least, so we are told. However I’m one of the loyal soldiers still fighting the war from trenches, so once or twice every week I visit my local CD store, to see if anything interesting has arrived. And I read newspapers, reviews etc. and somewhere in my brain I store all the important release dates.For years the pattern has been like this and the normal procedure was that on Mondays I read the reviews in the papers at work, and then hurried to the CD store after work, to pick up the weeks’ important releases. The system worked and if I was really lucky, it happened a few times that I was able to get the releases a few days before the official release date, because the parcels had already arrived (to make sure that everything was ready for Monday morning).However the past few years things have slowly (and recently more rapidly) changed in an unpleasant direction. I still read the reviews and I continue to spend a shitload of money on those shinny things, but frustratingly it has become increasingly difficult to buy the music at the time of its release. Instead I often have to wait 3-4 days, before the new releases arrive at the shop/in my mailbox. Why has it become like this? Several reasons probably, but one thing I hear again and again is, that orders have to reach a certain size before they can be shipped, so instead of receiving parcels every day, the store only get them once/twice a week.And with sales dropping the stores certainly don’t want to burn their fingers on stuff they cannot sell, so obviously they want to risk as little as possible, refraining from ordering any new releases by minor artists (meaning that I have to ask them to order it for me). I certainly don’t blame them for this very business like approach. Especially when you take the size of our city into consideration, where the number of music nerds like yours truly is fairly limited.As an alternative I’ve tried ordering new releases online, naively hoping that they will ship the CD’s Friday/Saturday, so they’ll be in my mailbox Monday morning. Unfortunately this switch of strategy has proved to be equally unsuccessful (they don’t ship anything before Monday morning, and with the awful service Post Danmark is providing, it easily takes the same 3 or 4 days, before I’ll have the pleasure of listening to anything), so I’ve gone back to supporting the local store.

As a final comment, I know digital downloads will eliminate this problem once and for all, but I still want the CD's as the physical evidence that I’ve actually purchased something (back to that good old “is music tangible or intangible” discussion).

April 26, 2008

Tonight I’m babysitting three children. Two of them are my own (so that’s not really babysitting I guess) and the third is the son of some friends. So it’s been quite a busy evening so far (my wife is not home – wise move), but soon I expect it to be pretty quite around here.

Speaking of Mr. Aparo. Over at Myspace he's giving away a few songs for free, including this classic from the wonderful 1999 album The American.+ Spaceship

Seems like it's mighty popular these days naming your band after the Japanese capital, so here's a Tokyo double from the inbox (should add that both bands sound quite interesting). And isn't there an awful German band named Tokio Hotel as well?+ Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave+ Hello Tokyo - Steady The Gun

Don't know if J.A. somehow felt that his position was threatened following yesterday's post. But last night he sent a lengthy mail with lots and lots of new recommendations. So far I've had no time checking any of them out, but I can see that one of them has already been posted over at Coast Is Clear.

Been listening a few times today to the new album Endnu En by Danish electro pop duo Nordstrøm. It's nice, harmless and as expected it's packed with catchy pop tunes, but highly innovative it certainly isn't.+ Ro På (found via)

The debut album Youth Novels by Lykke Li has been hyped a lot, but I have only this one word to say about it; Boring. A few bright moments aside, it's really, really boring (oh - that was more than just one word, but you probably get my point?)!+ Dance Dance Dance

Swedish indie rock band Alibi Tom has mailed me these two really fine tunes. Surprisingly different they are, but they probably both fit in nicely in the britpop category?+ Fire+ Botanisten

According to Gaffa, Oliver North Boy Choir will soon be releasing their new single Weekender. I've already had the privilege of listening to it, and trust me - it's absolutely brilliant!

April 24, 2008

The other day I received a mail with the contents “thought I'd recommend something, instead of J.A.”, so it certainly seems like out Spanish friend has build himself quite a reputation! Deservedly so, I should add.In the mail were links for a few songs by Swedish indie pop artist/singer-/songwriter Staphan O’Bell, which turned out to be really likeable ones, sounding pretty much like Bob Dylan on a musical exchange trip to Gothenburg. Does this description make any sense? If not – imagine a singer-/songwriter playing those catchy indie pop tunes that always seem to find their way out of the Swedish indie pop capital? Was that a better one? No! Then check them out and describe the songs yourself! They are lovely and definitely worth a listen!+ Just Like Me+ Fashion Street+ I'm OK

Every morning when eating breakfast the radio is on, and from time to time it does happen that some really fine stuff is aired, thus helping to make the start of the day a good one. The “On the radio this morning” posts are an attempt to make your start a good one as well!

April 23, 2008

As it was announced in November last year, Danish quartet Anamia decided to split up, but at the same time they promised that the band’s final recordings would be published whenever they had been mixed and mastered. Now nearly five months later the songs have finally been finished, posted and are free for all of us to download. I only had time for a few listens last night, but they certainly sounded like they have been worth the wait, as the songs (once again somewhat Mew inspired) follow very nicely in the footsteps of the songs recorded in 2006. Sadly this will (probably - never say never) be the last we'll ever hear from Anamia and thus ends the story of a what I believe had the potential to someday become a fantastic band...now we'll never know...+ The Silence And The Thoughts+ I'm Your Matador+ So Close Now+ Hard To Realize

April 22, 2008

Today’s subject line doesn’t refer to the trip, but is the translated title of the new BREUMM album Det Perfekte Spild Af Tid. Been spending most of the day listening to it, and the fine lyrics combined with the catchy melodies simply make the album one of this year’s “must have’s”. Buy it via the band’s Myspace page.

April 15, 2008

Spring is an excellent time for traveling, and tomorrow the girls and I will be heading to Paris, on what will be the second of three trips this spring (the previous one, being the trip to Warsaw last month). This is the first time the two rascals are on a "real" visit to a larger city (Warsaw is pretty big, but we stayed at some friends' house outside the city centre), but since my wife and I have been to Paris a few times before, we have no strict schedule and no "must" sees, though we do plan to make it to the top of that tower you see in the picture. Should the best way to spend the days turn out to be playing in the parks - so be it! No matter what, I'm certain we'll have a great time! Will be back posting next Tuesday.

With the bold statement "The best 3:29 to welcome the spring!", Swedish label TOMT Recordings releases the free download single The Quest For Your Heart by Björn Kleinhenz. Bold or not that statement is spot on, as this wonderful track is a breathe of fresh air that will make you forget snow, winter, dark evenings and cold nights, and make you fall in love over and over and over and...+ The Quest For Your Heart

April 14, 2008

In an article in the recent edition of Soundvenue, Djuna Barnes states that MP3 blogs are dying (out of boredom). At least to her they are. Does this mean that my blog is so last year before it even became a wee bit hip? Blast!!

I don’t own an iPod and I still by CD’s. Perhaps the right Latin term for prehistoric monsters like me, who failed to understand that we entered a new millennium years ago, is CDsaurus Rex?

I’ve often wondered what my CD collection would look like, if I said yes to all the CD’s people offer to send me. The reasons why I refrain from accepting most of those generous offers are:1. I have no time to listen to them anyway.2. 90% of it will be a waste of time (a polite way of saying that the music will be pure garbage).3. Storage.4. The dying market for 2nd hand CD’s. 10 years ago I probably would have thought of the CD’s as some sort of pension fund, but those days are long gone.

Spent 3 hours yesterday afternoon at some sports arena, watching my daughter (and several other youngsters) taking part in the annual gymnastics show. Highlight (my daughter’s performance aside) was this oldie being used during one of the shows. The quality is next to useless, but there is always a good chance that the song/video will bring back a few ancient memories to some of you?

Swedish synth pop duo Ostrich had a new song up last night for about 10 minutes (plus/minus?), but then decided to remove the track, because of poor sound quality. Luckily I found it in time to grab myself a copy, and I actually thought that it sounded pretty good. But I will respect the band’s disapproval of it and refrain from posting the track.

I swear that I found this recently uploaded track by Klaus & Kinski before Ivanposted the news in his blog. Oh well – great music will always find its way to the masses.+ En la cama

April 12, 2008

The BREUMM/Decorate.Decorate. concert last night was pretty OK, and it was especially interesting watching the new (?) "version" of BREUMM. Compared to the concert last year, this was a somewhat (and surprisingly) nosier edition with Jonas refusing to let his guitar rest during the set. Here's an older clip of Jonas doing an acoustic performance of Ingen Verdens Ting, which so far is my favorite track of 2008.

Without Magnolia I would probably never have heard of Aimee Mann. First single Thirty One Today from her odd titled forthcoming album @#%&! SMILERS sounds quite lovely, but it also hints that she hasn't really moved an inch musically since that fabulous soundtrack.+ Thirty One Today

April 11, 2008

It’s been 386 eventful days for The William Blakes since I first featured the band in these columns. Lots of demos were recorded and published, the band was signed to Speed of Sound (turned out to be quite a cheater, as this happens to be the band’s own label), their identities were revealed and finally Monday this week, the debut album Wayne Coyne was released. The album has been very positively received by the critics and according to those cited at the band’s myspace profile (all of them in Danish), the verdict is an average of 4.6 stars out of 6.When you (as I have) have been following the band rather closely for more than a year, it's obviously difficult not being a bit impatient about hearing the debut. The demos were interesting and more than anything showed that the band possesses great songwriting skills. But at the same time they sounded a bit “incomplete”, which could make you somewhat “worried” if the songs would reach their full potential, when recorded for the album.But there was nothing to fear really, as the 7 (that’s the number if I’m not mistaken) previously published demo songs that have found their way onto the album (in completely new versions) sound absolutely brilliant.So I fully agree with the reviewers that this is an awe-inspiring debut album, and I feel pretty comfortable predicting that it will end up on a substantial number of year end lists (including mine).+ Violent God

April 10, 2008

As always it's free to download and as one could expect, it's absolutely fantastic (and no - it's not a cover of the Curve classic of the same name). And obviously the B side is equally brilliant!* Homepage+ Coast Is Clear (will this be the future anthem of this blog?)+ Jules Verne (B side)

April 7, 2008

Buy a t-shirt at doublebob.dk and support the homeless in Copenhagen. Some great designs there.

According to the official webpage a total of 684 artists have applied to play at this year’s Vesterbro Festival. More than a 100 of those are expected to make it through the eye of the needle, and the complete list will be published May 1.

April 4, 2008

A promo copy of the From St Saviour to Quickwell album by My Raining Stars is spinning merrily in the CD player today. Don’t know if the band members have been on a study trip to Sweden or simply have Swedish blood in their veins, but the album is packed with those appealing and guitar driven indie pop tunes that we’d normally expect to origin from our eastern neighbour country. I can only recommend that you get yourself a copy of the album, but I really can’t tell you how to do it, as no purchasing information is available (though sending them a message should probably do?).+ All This Time

Chris takes us on yet another trip down memory lane in this week's Flashback Friday edition. I was 18 when the cover of Always On My Mind was released, and being a huge Pet Shop Boys fan back in those days, I quickly ran out and bought every 12” version of the single I could get my hands on. If you come by some day, we could try searching for them in the attic.

If you happen to enjoy the above remix, there's another 41 (!) versions of the same song to download at Last.fm.

That Death Valley Sleepers track I mentioned yesterday is pretty good and it follows nicely in the footsteps of their previous recordings. No surprises in store, but who really cares (?) and you certainly shouldn't fix what's not broken! So prepare yourself for another track from the next Tarantino movie (not really, but it definitely would be a good fit).+ Hey Messy Queen

Today is ENTAKT day at the office, as all three albums by the band are on constant rotation (yes - there are indeed a total of three albums. The two full-length demos as well as the official debut album Træerne Vokser Ind I Himlen).+ Kunsten At Slippe Taget

April 2, 2008

Next Friday (April 11) I plan to show up at Templet in Lyngby to see BREUMM and Decorate.Decorate.. I've been told that this will be the first official gig played by BREUMM, so it's definitely going to be a night for the history books! I was somewhat disappointed about the Decorate Decorate debut album Normandie, as the single Surname of Copenhagen promised so much more. However I'm giving it a few spins right now, and hopefully it will start growing. Anyway - watch the video for Surname... below and you'll probably understand why the expectations were so high!!

I still have no speakers for the computer, so I can only suggest that you stream the new demo Seven Years by Ruined by Martin and download the new song Hey Messy Queen by Death Valley Sleepers, as I really don't know if they are any good. Though I expect them to be!

And One Weekly Gun has a new song up as well. This week's topic is plastic surgery.

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All words in this blog are written by me. It’s a blog about music. A music blog! About music that I like and artists I care for. Things have to be relevant to me. Not necessarily to anyone else. I’m Danish. I live in Denmark. I write at a lot about Danish music. And a lot about foreign music as well. Artists and labels not afraid of sharing music are the coolest. In the past I’ve been getting invaluable recommendations from José Antonio (J.A.) and Rodolfo; and still do! Big thanks to Steven of Letters Have No Arms! for designing the previous banner! Thanks to Ryan of Rikers for creating the current one! Songs for download are sometimes uploaded by me. But only when I have received permission from the artists/labels OR the songs are legally available for free elsewhere.